BSNL lost over 21 lakh wireless subscribers in June as the state-run telco cleaned up its base of non-active users. According to the figures released by sectoral regulator Trai, BSNL lost 21.40 lakh subscribers in June and its user base has shrunk to 8.94 crore at the end of month.

"The reason for the decline is that we are removing non-active customers as part of the clean-up. The non-active users have been accumulating in the user base for the last 10 years and now we are removing them," BSNL Director (Consumer Mobility) Anupam Shrivastava told PTI.

He said the exercise will also help in freeing more numbering resources. He said earlier since the spectrum was linked to user base so telecom operators tend to show non-active subscribers also as part of the user base but now spectrum is de-linked from users, so there is no need to keep the non-active ones.

Other state-run operator MTNL too lost 30,304 users during the month and its base is reduced to 33.66 lakh. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in Parliament that the public sector firms are losing market share. The market share of BSNL has come down to 12.3 per cent at the end of May 2014 from 13.27 per cent at end of March 2012; whereas that of MTNL stood at 4.83 per cent at May?end, 2014, he added.

Prasad said the government has taken measures to revive the two state-run telecom firms which include waiver of Rs 1,411 crore government loan to BSNL and financial support of Rs 6,724.51 crore to BSNL and Rs 4,533.97 crore to MTNL on surrender of broadband spectrum.

In 2012-13, MTNL recorded a net loss of Rs 5,321.12 crore on annual revenue of Rs 3,428.6 crore. BSNL losses, as per unaudited results, stood at Rs 8,198 crore for 2012-13.